SDH Shopian craves for healthcare facilities

SHOPIAN: Despite serious hardships faced by the inhabitants of Shopian hospital in terms of healthcare, the government yet again neglected the area.
Shopian hospital has the same infrastructure and doctors as it had in the year 1976 after it was upgraded to sub district hospital. With seven medical officers and four specialists how can a hospital provide health services, asked a doctor wishing not to be named.
He said the present staff was not even sufficient for a single day of week. “How can a skeletal staff offer services round the clock for a week,” he said.
Another doctor from the hospital told Kashmir Reader that people used to abuse them but they don’t understand the staff cruch and lack of facilities.
“Instead of abusing us the people must ask the government as to why there is nothing for healthcare except first aid treatments due to acute dearth of staff and machinery,” he saod.
Insiders from hospital said that they have no facility for basic emergency cases and child delivery. An official said that there are only three oxygen cylinders due to which they are forced to shift the patients who can’t be treated in the hospital.
Hospital sources said that seven more doctors have been sent to the hospital under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme but they have gone on indefinite strike.
According to the official records 16 patients with myocardial infarction complications were brought to hospital and all of them were referred to Srinagar based hospitals due to the lack of facilities. Medical superintendent Dr Shafat said that patients with heart attacks need specialized first aid emergency treatments so that their lives can be saved.
Officials from Shopian hospital told Kashmir Reader that the new under construction building has no water and electricity supply.
They said the department of public health engineering has estimated Rs 3.80 lac for providing water supply while as Rs 4.80 lacs have been estimated by power development department for new transformer. The monthly bill for electricity hot line has been calculated at v Rs 3.50 lacs but power department failed to provide power supply for the hospital.
The generator of the hospital consumes 64 liters of diesel per hour as it was for emergency purposes but since the hot line has failed, there was no option but to turn the generator on for running the hospital. “We are forced to pay bills for the generator as well as hotline,” the officials said.
Dr Shafat said that they have highlighted the issue at several higher levels but nobody is ready to provide funds to make the functioning of the hospital smooth.
He said the hospital is functioning on archaic infrastructure including vital operation theater.
“Our operation theater is outdated where birds and insects can roam easily. For better health care there should be multiple operation theaters for different patients to curb infection but how can we maintain sterilization when the OT is littered with bird droppings and dripping roof,” he said.
Locals said that the district has been once again abandoned by the government since they didn’t provide any relief to the Shopian hospital. Locals ridiculed the report given by the MOS health regarding Shopian hospital and said that the report was fake and misleading. Locals added that before this fake report they (government) told us in board meeting that hospital has been fenced which too was a white lie like the recent report given by minister of health in the legislative assembly.
Chief medical officer Shopian, Dr Abdul Rasheed told Kashmir Reader that total sanctioned doctors for Shopian are 64 but 23 posts are vacant. “We have 26 selected doctors through NRHM but all are on strike besides 144 paramedic staff that too is on strike,” he said.
As per the official records there is one doctor available for nine thousand inhabitants of district.

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Launched in May 2012, Kashmir Reader is one of the leading English language newspapers of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s published daily from Srinagar by Helpline Group, which earned a name and fame in serious journalism